Ezra Chiloba, under siege for impugned presidential elections

By David Indeje / September 7, 2017

Kenya’s electoral chair has demanded that the Chief Executive Officer to explain an array of issues in ‘executing the preparation for the fresh elections’.The IEBC chairman Wafula Chebukati in memo dated September 5. to the Commission Secretary details numerous failures by the secretariat that formed a key part of the Supreme Court proceedings.Chebukati states that Ezra Chiloba, the CEO issued a memo that appeared to contradict the position of the commission in relation to the impugned presidential elections.The commission contracted Messer Al ghurair to print the county’s ballot papers and Forms to be used in the presidential elections under defined contractual terms and obligations.“Respond and explain what happened to the printed forms that were meant to have various approved security features and names of candidates printed in accordance with the ballot proofs,” he said.“..and where they were availed and failed to work, explain the failure…”The chairman noted the commission spent KSh848m on buying satellite phones but that the phones were not distributed to each tallying centre and constituency as intended.“Explain what occasioned the massive failure in the devices that would have been used in transmitting the results,” he said.Chiloba was further asked to give reasons why the IEBC chairman’s password was allegedly used to access the results transmission system.“Paul Mugo and Boniface Wamae who were under instructions from ICT director James Muhati, through your office, confirmed the creation of username account and a password in the name of the chairperson without my knowledge or consent.” Other demands that sought explanations include: “Explain what went wrong with KIEMS results transmission where over 10,366 out of 40,883 polling stations sent text results without accompanying Forms 34A.”“Further explain why the commission used the subject server for day to day operations prior to the elections and also why the staff in the ICT directorate used passwords different from their IEBC password.”

Later in the day, five IEBC commissioners led by Commission Vice Chairperson Consolata Nkatha accused their chair for acting alone without involving them. Thy alleged that the claims made in the memo were not factual and that could mislead the public.

“We wish clarify that the content of the said memo was not discussed or sanctioned by the Commission Plenary. The commissioners came to know of the memo through the media like everyone else.”

They added, “A quick perusal of the memo shows that the allegations are based on some report or information that have not been brought to the attention of the commission. Most of the issues raised are not factual and could easily mislead if taken out of context.

However, the secretariat is reviewing the issues and will prepare appropriate responses to be presented to the Commission Plenary.”

In a twist of events, IEBC commissioners Paul Kurgat and Margaret Mwachanya disowned the response to the chair distancing themselves.

Mwachanya said, “’I am not among the authors of the purported document. Neither the hatcher of the idea.”

About David Indeje

David Indeje is a writer and editor, with interests on how technology is changing journalism, government, Health, and Gender Development stories are his passion. Follow on Twitter @David_IndejeDavid can be reached on: (020) 528 0222 / Email: [email protected]

Soko directory was formed in 2008 by Hidalgo Investments Ltd. Hidalgo Investments is an investment company with diverse interests in the fields of finance, government tenders, business consultancy and corporate image consultancy and legal research, and was incorporated in 2008 under the Laws of Kenya, Cap 486.